WALLS THAT WORK
Renovated Chicago brownstone makes the most of its separate, defined spaces, writes Vicky Sanderson
Rebekah Zaveloff likes walls. In that, the Chicago-based co-founder/principal designer of Kitchenlab Interiors (kitchenlabinteriors.com) is at odds with a substantial subset of her peers, many of whom never met a space they didn’t want to “open up.”
Zaveloff, who runs the full-service firm with her husband Nick, says she likes the way well-placed walls can define space and frame compositions.
“I am one of those people who always wants to bring back a wall. People are like, ‘What? You’re crazy!’ But that’s something I really love about old houses — that they do have separate spaces.”
That’s the perspective Zaveloff brought to an elderly brownstone two-flat in Chicago’s West Town, which clients had tasked her with restoring after a series of poorly conceived renovations left the floor plan disjointed and choppy.
“Down the middle of the space, there were a bunch of posts and some beams that were kind of hodge-podged together,” says Zaveloff.
Along with the building puzzles came the challenge of a tight budget. To meet it, Zaveloff turned to her “tried and true” practices to avoid overspending.
“Often, it’s structural. Someone may hate the railing of the stair and think the only option is to replace it. I say no, let’s paint it white or black,” says Zaveloff, “especially if we are going to put a sofa in front of it.”
Some things, however, simply must get fixed. Here it was shrinking a full bath on the main floor — installed, no doubt, when it was a flat — to a powder room. The new room is small but makes a mighty design statement with deep-toned, large-scaled floral paper, grounded by bold geometric tile.
Often, says Zaveloff, wellmade, handsome moulding will be a sound design investment.
“It is going to create a foundation and background. We were lucky here — the casing was wide and had nice backbands and some character,” she says. “It was good enough, and painting it brought everything to a cohesive place.”
Other big questions — possibly with expensive answers — will include flooring.
“Do you save up, do you make do, do you rip it out? When it comes to tile and light fixtures, though, there are so many products out there, and that’s where we do our high/low, our mixing.”
Original elements — a wonderful street-facing facade topped by a stained-glass transom window — were kept. Vintage touches — a ceiling medallion and fireplace — replaced builder-grade options used earlier.
One notable aspect of the design are the handsome vistas, the pleasing views between rooms, the sense of flow. That reflects Zaveloff ’s focus as a fine art student, where she explored the medium of collage, a process that took up to 15 steps to get on canvas.
“My work was literally layered,” she says. “So much of my fine art is relevant to my interior design work.”
A stint as a set designer honed composition skill, and an ability to weed out false notes in historically referenced restorations.
“We were determined to bring back the charm and the character, but in a modern, fun, young way,” says Zaveloff.
She’s especially happy with the kitchen, where Zaveloff says “we really nailed that high contrast (with the) unusual choice of black on cupboards and a white island. Some clients would insist it be done the other way, but they trusted us.”
Both Zaveloff and her husband also look at design through the lens of the hospitality industry: Nick was a partner in a restaurant, and Zaveloff waited on tables for years as a student.
Those experiences, she says, gives them insight into how to create “best seat in the house” spots throughout a home.
“It’s the one you look for as soon as you enter as restaurant, the one with the nicest lighting, the great view, the best seating. We want to create those moments for people in their homes.”